(Charlie Williams & Joe Nixon)

The alarm rang at seven this morning
The same time it did yesterday
Seven-thirty is my breakfast time
And I know what the wife’s gonna say.

The Crawfords next door got a new swimming pool
The Millers got a color TV
Mr. Wilson’s job is not good as yours,
But his wife dresses better than me.

I get to the school at eight o-five
And drop off the kids at the gate
Then I drive past the clock outside the bank
It’s exactly a quarter past eight.

When I reach the stop sign at Oak Street
The same thought crosses my mind
Should I turn right like I always have,
Or left and leave it behind?

Right or left at Oak Street
That’s the choice I face everyday
And I don’t know which takes more courage
The staying or the running away.

A left turn would take me to somewhere
Leave alarm clocks and schedules behind
And the world wouldn’t care if I’m not somewhere
At some particular time.

Where a man can do what he wants to do
And no one expects him to give
All of his time to the same old routine
In the one life that he has to live.

I’m not sure which way is the best way
But I’ve always turned right before
And it might be strange at the end of the day
If they weren’t there at the door.

A man must make his decisions
But he must consider the stakes
For every mans life is a gamble
It depends on the turn that he takes.

Right or left at Oak Street
That’s the choice I face everyday
And I don’t know which takes more courage
The staying or the running away...